Ken Wyatt said he had received feedback from community members concerned about changes to the laws.

AAP: Alan Porritt, file image

West Australian Liberal MP Ken Wyatt is leaving open the possibility of crossing the floor to vote against the Coalition's plans to overhaul the Racial Discrimination Act.

The Federal Government wants to remove provisions making it unlawful for someone to publicly "offend, insult, or humiliate" another person or group based on their race.

But it intends to retain the offence of intimidating another person and insert a new clause banning racial vilification.

The Member for Hasluck, who is Australia's first Indigenous Lower House MP, has previously threatened to cross the floor if current laws were weakened.

Speaking to 720 ABC Perth on Wednesday, Mr Wyatt said he was not ruling that out.

"A member of Parliament will at times be asked to stand for the principles they believe in, and if you believe in your principles and you stand by them, then you will work within your party structures to make sure that your logic of argument is reflected," he said.

"But sometimes there is a point, and I think of people like Philip Ruddock who did cross the floor on principle, they didn't cross it for a political reason, they crossed it for the principle of the greater good for the people they were arguing for, and I think that is the important underlying issue in all of this."

Mr Wyatt said he was concerned about what the changes could mean to his electorate.

"I raised the issue that the repealing of the Act would leave people vulnerable, and I indicated in my electorate I've got 94 different language groups," he said.

"It wasn't to do with Indigenous only, this is about the very makeup of our multicultural society."

I've had people come back and indicate to me I'm focusing only on Indigenous - I'm not, this is about all Australians, who are at times vilified.

Ken Wyatt

However, he said he now understood Attorney-General George Brandis has drafted a clause banning racial vilification, and the changes to the law are about the issue of free speech.

"What I do appreciate now is the Attorney-General has prepared an exposure draft - has put that out to consultation - in which he looks to try and strike a balance between free speech to enable us to have the conversations we need to, but at the same time having the balance of protecting vulnerable people, or people from vilification," he said.

"And that paper will certainly get responses from the community and in principle [that's] the process I support.

"I've had people come back and indicate to me I'm focusing only on Indigenous - I'm not, this is about all Australians, who are at times vilified."

Mr Wyatt said he had received feedback from community members concerned about the changes to the laws.

"I've had correspondence with the Jewish community, with the Hellenic, Greek community - they are all expressing concern that it is a weakening from the current Act, they don't want to see the change occur where it weakens, they would rather it be left alone," he said.

Mr Wyatt said the current laws have failed in the terms of the definition of free speech.

"They appear to have a restriction on free speech. There are times when we've got to have discussions so we can listen to the perspectives on particular matters with some, but you should not vilify," he said.

"If you let people be able to say whatever they want, if it vilifies a group of people, then to me that is morally wrong.

Warren Mundine warns against changes

Indigenous Advisory Council chairman Warren Mundine has criticised Senator Brandis's recent comment about people "having the right to be bigots" as "quite bizarre".